


The Certain Understanding Between Friends and Enemies

by LilacsandFreedom



Series: Emet/WoL Week 2020 [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amaurot (Final Fantasy XIV), Dark Knight Questline (Final Fantasy XIV) Spoilers, Dark Knight Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Elezen Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), F/M, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Kissing, Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Patch 5.3: Reflections in Crystal Spoilers, Smoking, White Mage Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), brief implied wol/haurch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:21:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26434081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacsandFreedom/pseuds/LilacsandFreedom
Summary: Dying from Light and fed up with everyone running around being all secretive about things that have no business being secret, the Warrior of Darkness puts her foot down and demands some answers. Emet-Selch is happy to oblige, albeit he has little idea what those answers entail for him.
Relationships: Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Warrior of Light
Series: Emet/WoL Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921468
Kudos: 12





	The Certain Understanding Between Friends and Enemies

At the end of the day, she considered the Glorious Raid of Mt. Gulg to be a bit of a wash. All that trouble for this? Well, that was just her entire life, now wasn’t it? It couldn’t have possibly _been_ any less of a wash, and then G’raha (she’d always known it was him, the cheeky bastard) got himself shot. Now, her lungs positively burning with concentrated Light, her head spinning, and the ever-infuriating voice of one Emet-Selch taunting her, Lady decided that enough was enough.

“ _Alright!_ ” she exclaimed, clutching her cane in both hands and using it to prop herself up as she spat out another glob of liquid Light while maintaining eye contact with him. “Alright, you--” she staggered, but reinforced herself to remain standing and, more importantly, speaking, “-- _god_ \-- damned bastard, I’ve had enough! I’m sick and tired of playing silly buggers with you-- and with _you too_ , G’raha, don’t think you’re getting out of this. I want _answers_ , Ascian, and by any deity who bothers to listen, I’ll _get them_.”

He actually looked surprised for once. Served him right. The Scions looked surprised as well, albeit for completely different reasons. But, the entire day-- the entire _damned mission_ \-- had been a wash, and decorum was not what was needed right now.

Emet-Selch was quick to recover. He bowed theatrically and said, “I’m utterly pleased that you have decided to accept my _humble_ invitation.”

“Right, right,” she said, dismissive, “I look forward to whatever nonsense you’ve got prepared for me. But, I leave on two conditions. Let me heal the Exarch. Let me have some parting words with my companions. Deal?”

“Whatever pleases you. If you can manage it.”

Using her cane for support, she moved carefully and knelt by G’raha. She could say many things about Emet-Selch, but she had to give it to him; he shot to wound, not to kill. He must have had plans. She struck her cane against the earth and let the magic flow.

“We are going to have some _words_ if I get out of this alive, G’raha Tia, I hope you know that,” she whispered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Almost immediately, he revived, albeit weakened. He looked up at her pleadingly, tears dripping down his face. “Forgive me...it was the only way…”

“Nonsense. There’s never only one way. Get back to the Crystarium, take care of yourself, and I--” another stabbing pain. She gripped her cane hard enough that she was certain her knuckles were white beneath her gloves. “ _I_ will do what I can.”

With this first condition accomplished, she limped over to the Scions. Ryne took her by the hand and she could feel the Light ease, if only a little. Bless the girl, she always did all she could. Lady gave her best attempt at a smile (like heroes do). “Thank you.”

She looked to her companions. “I won’t lie. It hasn’t been great. But, it’s been good, and that’s enough for me. I won’t waste time with long goodbyes. Maybe this isn’t even goodbye at all, eh? No matter. I’ll take care of this.”

Alphinaud spoke up first. “You can’t possibly be serious about going with him!”

Lady nodded. “I’m not happy about it either, but I’m tired of games and I want this whole affair to be over with sooner rather than later. I’m not going to abandon you all. I promise. And I don’t break promises.” The second smile came much easier, “Thank you all. Truly. Thank you.”

If any others spoke, she didn’t quite hear it. The Light clouded her mind, a true splitting headache if there ever was one. So she did what she usually did. She nodded and spoke in themes and variations of “yes, of course” and called it a day. Or a night. Whatever it was now. Fortifying her sheer determination to carry on, she turned once again to face Emet-Selch, who looked to be growing very impatient indeed.

“Done with curtain call?” he said.

“I’d much rather have an encore.”

He smirked. With a snap of his fingers, a portal of darkness appeared from thin air. “Come, hero. I don’t break promises either.”

Refusing to take his hand, she stepped through the portal and into complete and total darkness.

Lady figured that she must have fainted somewhere along the way. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the midst of an enormous city unlike any she’d ever seen before. The buildings were tall, geometric in design, and though seemingly made of a pale stone, they shone black as shadow in their silhouettes. Strange, sculptural structures spiraled up from the peaks of some of them, a rare curve among endless angles. Everything seemed, well, _larger_ as well. She felt very small in comparison to the sight. But, more than any of these, she knew she was dreaming when she looked up and saw the ocean for the sky.

She knew it wasn’t a pleasant dream when the Ascian sauntered up beside her and extended his arms toward the towers. “Behold the jewel of our star. Amaurot, gleaming as she did so very long ago. It’s only a recreation, I’m afraid. But, nonetheless, she stands as a beacon of hope even in this fractured reality.”

Her words were interrupted by a coughing fit, which ruined the sleeve of her coat. “I’d rather be seeing it under better circumstances.”

“No matter what happened, you would have.” he said. “Shame it’s this path. As a disappointment. I really was starting to cheer for you, you know. Ah, well, I’ll call it a momentary lapse in judgement.”

“Are you _ever_ going to stop being a twat?”

“No.”

With no other options and a rapidly deteriorating state of being, she continued to follow him anyway. And he, most certainly not caring about how she felt, continued to prattle on. “I’d give you a tour for old time’s sake, but it looks like you don’t have time for that. I promised dignity and comfort and I intend to keep that promise. There’s a beautiful apartment on the uppermost floor of the complex over there. We can speak as long as you are able, you can get the answers you so desperately want, and from then on I will personally watch as you tear the world apart. It will be a spectacle for the ages.”

She almost felt like he was trying too hard to be happy about this. There was a certain straining to his tone. Angry, yes, but also...disappointed. Actually disappointed. Almost sad. The more she thought of it, the more she recognized the last of these. He usually spoke in a way that was almost sad.

In a painful daze, he led her up to the room in question and, true to his description, it was a fine place, she thought. Decorated in the same elaborate geometry as the rest of the city, in tones of black and gold and bronze, she had to admit that it was a beautiful place. The balcony caught her eye the most. It faced out toward the city, providing what she felt must have been the best view of the place. And what a view it was...it was almost nostalgic.

If he was saying anything else of a smug and generally condescending nature, she didn’t hear it. She wandered to the low seat on the balcony (it was more of a stool for the much larger chair out there, but she didn’t care) and let herself relax a little. She dug in her pockets and pulled out a small case. Still safe after all this time...

“Have you got a light?” she said absently. “I don’t think it’s wise to summon abilities beyond my cane’s capability here.”

He obliged. “I was unaware of this vice of yours.”

She let out a long, slow breath of smoke. Could have been better, but it wasn’t bad. “Big talk from the likes of you.” she said, quickly following it with, “Yes, yes, I know _moral relativism and all that_ , alright, alright. My smoking habit is a vice. I am not a person in your eyes. Quite frankly, I don’t care.”

“Does that make the pain go away?” he asked.

“My cigar or delivering to you what you’ve given to me? Because the answer for both is no, but it helps me forget.”

He sat on the opposite stool, angled slightly toward her. “Mortals are _so very good_ at that, I wouldn’t think you’d need anything to help you.”

She rolled her eyes and focused on keeping herself together for a moment. The room’s clock ticked loudly in the silence. It seemed to echo, almost filling the entire city. She sighed and looked out over the skyline. There really was a certain familiarity to it. Maybe he was onto something about sundered souls. Still, would she trade her home for the shadow of a city? The Twelveswood, Ishgard, would she give them up in exchange for a long-past shadow? Never.

But, she could say the same for him. Would he trade his home for the shadow of a world? Every place was someone’s home in the end. Every person was someone’s beloved, somewhere. Moral relativism and all that. Another cloud of smoke drifted out over the shadow of Amaurot. It was an understandable motivation. A shame it had to be like this.

“How did it happen?” she asked.

For once, he spoke with sincerity. “There was a sound. We didn’t know where it came from and we still don’t know. But, there was a sound across the star, and it drove us mad. We have the gift of creation, you know. It is how this came to be. Such power must be tamed, controlled, lest it run rampant with even a single careless thought. The magic ran wild. It created monsters that tore our cities apart. It was coming for us soon, we knew.”

He continued, “And the stars fell from the sky in great, fiery rains, and with them creatures beyond our ken. They were not of our making. And we, in our desperation, sought to weave the laws of the star anew. Half of our people gave their lives to summon Zodiark; half of our people and one of our own.”

“Hells bells.”

He let out a half-hearted laugh. “Yes, well, it stopped the calamity. He did. But, there was one snag in the plan. He required more sacrifice, there was too much aether being used...another half of the population gave their lives, and we hoped that through their sacrifice we could return our previous fallen to us. And the story you know from there. Hydalyn was summoned, we were torn asunder...but myself, Lahabrea, and Elidibus...we remained. And that is the story of how it happened.”

His voice took a bitter tone once again, “Now you see why I am so terribly _disappointed_ in how this whole wretched affair has turned out. And you would see such sacrifice made for naught. It’s too great a loss to be forgotten. None of you would make that decision. How long did it take you to bring your nations together? Could any of them come together like that? Give themselves like that?”

The Light burned in her chest, it burned enough to split her Soul into splinters. She shook her head. “No. We’re all too stubborn and self-centered for it.” and she looked him in the eye, “We just don’t know when to stop. When all things end, we somehow insist on continuing forward.”

His gaze narrowed. “What are you _implying?_ ”

Another draw. “I can’t hate you, Emet-Selch. I’ve realized that now. I’ve tried to-- believe me, murderer, villain and smug bastard that you are, I have _tried_ \-- but I can’t hate you. Because we are the same person.”

“ _What?_ ”

She felt herself stiffen ever so slightly, yet there was a sense of calm. The pain was an afterthought. “Oh yes, my grief is but a drop in the ocean compared to yours, I won’t weigh sorrows because they’ll crush us both like waves in the end. But, we are exactly the same. I will not give up nor give in, not ‘til the end. And you won’t either. I will not forsake those I love. Neither will you. There is perfect compromise and perfect conflict between us because if our situations were reversed, we would still be sitting here, in this time, in this place, and we would still be having this exact conversation.”

The world was fading around the edges in bright white light. His fury was still clear as day, as was the rapidly-fraying restraint keeping him from attacking outright. “How _dare you!_ You wretched, broken thing, what has granted you the right to believe we are the same?” 

“I know what grief looks like. I’ve seen it in the mirror every day. A drop in the ocean, but a drop can drown a tiny creature...” she looked out over the city again. The familiarity tugged at her mind until she remembered. “Ah...that’s right. I met a boy with powers like yours once.”

It was like she’d dropped him into freezing water. “...what?”

Her head was heavy, but she fought through it to speak, to keep a sense of composure through it all. “It was a strange thing...his name was Myste. He had the face of my best friend and the features of all I knew who died for me. He brought the dead back to life, simulcra of the dead, so that their loved ones could speak to them...stole aether from my crystal for it, killed dozens of chocobos…”

There was a bright, _bright_ light in the distance. She kept her eyes on it. Her body burned, and she supposed she collapsed onto the stonework, twitching and choking, her breath laboring from the pain. Emet-Selch was at her side in an instant, looking over her with a bright desperation in his eyes. For once, he looked awake.

“Damn it all, must you say this _now?!_ What happened to the boy, where is he?!”

“He doesn’t exist.” she gasped, “It was only my own grief in the end. The guilt, the grief, it was all too much. Strange, isn’t it? Who else could I love but you, he said, but it sounded like…like...”

Nothing hurt all that much anymore. Distantly, she was aware of an array of voices calling out her name (most were her name, but there was one...was that her name?), but the Light was too strong, she couldn’t see any face to match them. Save one. She smiled a little. 

_I always knew you’d come for me in the end._ She thought. It seemed to her that a pair of gloved hands rested gently against her cheeks. _Damned fool that I am, I always knew it’d be long before you ever wanted to. Oh, don’t look at me so. See? I’m smiling. Now, of all times, I don’t want to die, but I’ll smile for you._

And a voice broke through the din, saying in perfect clarity “You won’t be happy about this and neither will I.”

She closed her eyes. _My dear friend, I feel you’re very much mistaken..._

The warm breath of life filled her, the Light forced away by a deep shadow embracing her Soul like an old friend.

Emet-Selch parted from her and she, as the pain receded and her awareness returned, could only manage “What _was that?!_ ”

“Azem…” he said weakly, “this whole time, it really was...I’d hoped and I’d hated it, but I never thought…” he regained himself again, but the mask was thinner this time, “that was me saving your life. You are far too interesting to let die, even if it benefits me in the end. I too am tired of playing games and I too want _answers_.”

Her strength returned as well. She pushed him off of her and he didn’t protest. She ground the remains of her cigar into the stonework as she stood. “Lo and behold, I have more questions! First of all, _how did you do that?_ And why? You wanted me to turn into a monster, you taunted me about that only...however long ago now, these moments have felt like days.”

“Darkness to drive back the Light, pure and simple,” he said, “Mouth-to-mouth was the quickest, most effective method of doing so, and truly, hero, you don’t sound very grateful for the rescue! It should keep you functional until further notice, so you really ought to thank me.”

“Let it be known that I appreciate being alive,” she said.

“But, I did it because I need those answers. This...this Myste, this aspect of yourself broken from you as a living person who wielded _creation magic_ and I am only supposed to simply _let you die?!_ Never, there is too much on the line. If you, miserable, fractured disappointment as you are, barely able to hold the aether we could in our hands--”

“Careful now, Ascian, you might just kill me with flattery.”

“--can produce a being with _that much_ potential, then what are the rest of the sundered capable of? And the tower as well, to bring it here through space and time should have been impossible, yet here we stand! And what of you? I can’t let you die until I know-- humor me, won’t you, hero?”

All the answers to all the questions that had been breeding in her mind like rabbits...right here, right now. And, in all fairness, he had saved her life when it benefited him very little to do so. Very odd for a bastard like him. But, then again, she too was a bastard, she knew how the game was played and how all the players acted out their parts. Now, the curtain was lifted, and together the principals could speak uninhibited by rules. A golden opportunity...and that aside, she had plans in case he went back on his word.

She extended her hand to him. “I give you my time, not my friendship.”

“As it should be.”

Light and dark in equal and opposite measure. Perfect compromise, perfect conflict.

They shook on it.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Emet/WoL week 2020 Day 1 prompt "Light/Dark"
> 
> I've actually had this idea kicking around for awhile. What would happen if the WoL accepted Emet's offer to go to Amaurot with him after Mt. Gulg is a common question asked and answered by the fandom, but who can blame us? It's right there with a shiny little bow wrapped around it! I feel like I've answered it well enough for my WoL.  
> This is just a little short, and while there is a follow-up coming down the line, I think I'll leave it at this little "what if?" type story. But, we'll see. It is pretty fun to write Lady and Emet snarking at each other.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!


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